The Way it Ends
by Enhas
Summary: Ten years after Fry first arrived in the future, much has changed, including himself. The way it ends is not always what you expected it to be, and Fry and Leela experience this first hand.


Author's Note: I don't own Futurama or anything to do with it, and this is strictly a non-profit only thing.

This is the first Futurama story I've written. I don't expect it to go down in history as great or anything.. anyway, I am as much of a Fry / Leela supporter as anyone but I decided to try something different here. Be warned.

* * *

The year: 3010.

Though for Philip J. Fry, some things would always remain the same. He remembered walking alone sometimes at night in the 20th century.. minus the tubes, robots and hover cars. Fry had always loved looking into the stars, and that night was no exception.

Looking up into the mostly-clear sky, he thought of his past ten years. The adventures and many near-death experiences he had on a daily basis..

All gone, now.

Almost everyone that Fry knew had moved on in some way or another, and he figured that he should soon do the same. After the Professor had retired and closed down Planet Express almost three years ago, everyone had broken apart. Bender had not been seen or heard from in about two years.

_I guess he musta met his match and been robbed blind for once, instead of the other way around.._

Hermes had been promoted to some other desk job somewhere in the bureaucracy, with a 1.5 pay raise. Amy had married Kif on Mars, in the Wong Ranch.. as far as Fry knew, they were still together and everything was fine between them.

Zoidberg.. was still Zoidberg, most likely the least changed of the lot. He still lived in a dumpster near the Professor, and looked after the aging man's health. Scruffy had just vanished into thin air one day, leaving only his mop and a copy of _DDD Girls_ behind.

The Professor was more senile than ever. Some days he would forget that he even shut down Planet Express, and continue to call Fry to go on some mission or another.

_I hope he remembers who I am, tonight.._ Fry thought, as he neared the former Planet Express building with a suitcase in his right hand. _Because I don't want to keep living like this, not anymore.._

Naturally, with the closing of Planet Express, Fry lost his job. KIf recommended that he join the DOOP, for the pay was good for at least two out of twelve months of the year. Fry considered, but one thought of Zapp Brannigan and that career move was sunk like the Titanic. So, he did what he always did.. being a delivery boy. Over the past three years he didn't stay in one place or planet for very long, changing jobs and travelling often. It was fate that he ended up back in New New York again, and fate again that he received a phone call from..

_Leela.._

The thought of the beautiful, violet-haired cyclops that he had once loved quickly made his eyes begin to water.. as well as the message he had received earlier that night..

* * *

Fry looked around his cheap, filthy motel room before getting up to smash the television.

_I guess some things don't change, even in the 31st century.._ he thought, pounding the left side of the old set until the familiar image of Hypnotoad re-formed, with its trademark buzzing sound. Fry sighed and turned it off, before flopping down onto his bed.

_What happened.. I thought the future was supposed to be great, but I've never felt more alone.._

Fry knew that the arrangement at Planet Express wouldn't last forever, and that someday he would be out on his sorry ass. He just didn't figure it was going to be so soon, and that everything was going to change overnight..

He was thinking of drowning his sorrows for the twenty-third time in scotch, until a loud ring to his left pierced Fry's ears.

"Okay, if that's you again, Rodney.." he yelled, pressing a button to activate a small video-screen. "Stop calling me and.."

"Fry?"

He knew that voice.. one that haunted his hopes and dreams many times before. Fry never thought that he would hear from her again.

"Leela?"

Turning his head towards the video-screen, he found what he suspected to be true. The image of Leela stared back at him, her one eye locked onto his. Despite the woman wearing her hair loose and having a few extra age lines, she looked little different from what he had remembered.

"Fry.. I've been trying to get a hold of you for a long time. Nobody knew where you were.."

"That's because I told them not to tell you."

"What?" Leela asked, looking shocked. She sniffled and Fry could notice a few tears pooling near the bottom of her eye. "Do you really.. hate me that much?"

"Leela.." Fry replied, trying to hold back tears of his own. "I'd never hate you. I just didn't want to bother with your life anymore, not since.."

He turned away for a moment, poorly attempting to wipe away his tears. Leela took notice and sobbed quietly, before he continued talking.

"Are you still with.. Johnny, or Jimmy.. whatever his name was.."

"James." Leela answered. This was proving to be a difficult conversation for her and Fry both, that was a long time in coming.

"Yeah, that's his name. Any kids?"

"One. A girl.. we named her Diana. She looks almost just like me.. except she has two eyes." Leela said, and noticed Fry tremble for a moment. "Look, Fry.. if this is too hard I can.."

"No, Leela. I just hope you're happy with your family. It took me a long time to get it through my thick skull that you didn't love me.. the message in the stars that you never got to see, the opera.. I was wasting my time all along. And look what it did.. it ruined the friendship we had. I'm such an idiot!"

"Yes, you are! You shouldn't have ran away the way you did.. I even thought you might have been dead!"

"What was I supposed to do?" Fry yelled. "Go to your wedding and be your best man? At that time my heart was ripped right out.. I still loved you and felt like you betrayed me. I was going to kill myself.."

"Oh my God!" Leela gasped, raising her left hand to her mouth.

".. But I knew that was the coward's way out. So I ran away instead!" Fry said, briefly snickering at his horrible joke. Leela did not laugh back.

"Fry, do you still.." Leela asked, but Fry anticipated the rest of her question and began to answer before she could finish.

"No, I don't love you, Leela. Well, yeah.. I do, but not in that way. I just wish things could have turned out better."

"Fry.." Leela sobbed, barely able to keep her head up. "I'm so sorry.. you know, I never told you this but I.."

"No, Leela.. you don't love me. You never have." Fry replied. "You have that Raoul guy and your daughter now, right?"

"James.. and yes, I love them very much.."

"Then there you go.. you have what you want."

"Fry, do you want to come over.. and talk? I'll give you my address.."

Fry considered for a moment, but quickly made up his mind. "No, it'd be too awkward. I don't want to interfere in your life. Goodbye, Leela.. you won't see me ever again."

"Fry, what are you.." Leela said, before he cut the connection. Those were the last words Fry had ever heard from Turanga Leela's lips. Though at two very different places and being two very different people, both Leela and Fry let their emotions free and cried their eyes out at precisely the same time.

Only the stars watched them.

* * *

Snapping back into reality outside the entrance to the former Planet Express, Fry quickly entered the building. Though it was late at night, Fry walked through the familiar corridors that used to be like a home to him. He could not find the Professor, or _anyone_.. anywhere.

He was startled by a voice that he was sure he had heard before, but couldn't remember for the life of him..

"Mighty One?"

"What? Okay.. whoever's there, my money's in my back pocket." Fry said, looking around in all directions, and out a nearby window. Other than a robot hobo lounging outside across the street, he was alone.

"Down here.." the voice said, sighing.

Fry looked as followed to see a small, black and three-eyed creature near his feet..

"Nibbler? What are you doing here? Doesn't Leela live like two thousand miles away?"

"Two thousand, five hundred and five.. to be exact." Nibbler replied. "Wait.. aren't you surprised that I speak?"

"Not really." Fry answered. "I've been having lots of dreams and stuff where you can, so.."

"I know why you are here, Philip J. Fry. You feel.. out of place, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do.. like my time is up here, or something. Being here in the future was cool and all, at first. But now I feel worse off than I was in the 20th century.. I just want to.."

"Go home. Yes.. you have done what was required."

"Huh?" Fry asked, rolling his eyes. Nibbler sighed, and did something that made Fry taste purple for a moment.. and then he _remembered_.

"Wow.. so I saved the universe.. three times?"

"Yes, Mighty One.. you did. Though the third time you _barely_ made it.. but you still did."

"Nibbler.. remember how I said a long time ago that the only thing that mattered here was Leela?" Fry asked, and Nibbler slowly nodded. "Well.. she's all happy and has a family now, I don't really need to look after her anymore, you know?"

Nibbler could clearly see that Fry was trying his very hardest not to break down in front of him. "Mighty One.. Fry, we tried to manipulate certain events to your advantage.. but love seems to be unpredictable, even for us. I am sorry that we failed."

"Don't be, it wasn't your fault. Leela's happy now, and I need to move on with my own life. I don't belong here anymore."

"You know, I could erase your entire memory of your past ten years.. make you forget it all."

"No.. Nibbler, the first few years here were the greatest of my life. I wouldn't want to forget them for the world. Wait.. aren't you going to erase my memory again anyway?" Fry replied, and scratched his chin.

"No.. nobody would believe you anyway. But it is imperative that if you should come across my past self, that you do _not_ tell me of any important events. Also, you cannot go back to your normal life or identity.. ever. You would risk contaminating the timeline."

"Hey, don't you think I know that?" Fry replied, a bit annoyed. "I watched enough _Doctor Who_ to figure crap like that out.. hey, do you like the sound the TARDIS makes? I always did. The whoosh-whoosh sound. That thing ahead of me kind of looks like one, too."

Nibbler stepped out of the way of Fry, and saluted him. "Goodbye.. Mighty One. May wherever you go, may you be blessed. The machine is directly ahead of you.. good luck."

Fry saluted back in a way he had seen his father do many times in his childhood, and Nibbler ran off. As Fry entered the booth-shaped time machine, the sound of light sobbing could be heard around a nearby corner.

_You've had a hard life, Philip J. Fry.. may you now have peace._

Inside the cramped time machine, Fry found that Nibbler had set everything up for him already.. all he had to do was push a single button. There was also a bubbling black vial labeled _DRINK THIS_. Fry did so immediately, and gagged.

"Geez, Nibbler.. what are you pulling?" he said to himself, still gasping for air. "Or maybe Bender put this here.. yeah, sounds more like him.."

Thinking once more of the sarcastic robot (or "the robut", as Dr. Zoidberg would have put it), doubt filled in Fry's mind. _If I do this, then I will never be able to see anyone else here again.. but no, I need to move on._

Taking a quick glance at a nearby screen that read _DECEMBER 31, 1999_, Fry closed his eyes and pounded on the button. It was the wrong one, and he felt something cold squirt into his eye.

"Ow.."

Trying again, he pushed the correct button. The world collapsed and spinned around him, as he fought hard to retain his consciousness and his lunch. He soon failed at both.

* * *

Fry awoke later to the familiar sensation of being prodded with a hard object.

"Off the bench, buddy!"

"Umph.. not now, Bender.." Fry said, still half-asleep. He opened his eyes to see a police officer hovering over him, still poking at him with his baton.. but even more surprising was the place he was in!

"I'm in.. Central Park?" Fry asked. "What day is it?"

"What'd you drink last night, or snort? Ah, forget it.." the police officer replied, walking away and laughing. "Stupid hobos.."

Sitting up, Fry realized once and for all that the previous night's events weren't a dream. He found his suitcase next to him, surprisingly not stolen or looted from. _I really did it, I'm back here again.._

Not even thinking about what Nibbler warned him against, he immediately wanted to go and talk to everyone he had missed for the past ten years: his family, Seymour, Mr. Panucci.. even that little jerk snotty kid from the arcade who made fun of him when he lost. It didn't take long before he ran towards Panucci's Pizza, only to slam into someone very hard.

"Hey, watch where you're going!"

"Uh.. sorry?" Fry said, looking for the first time at the person he had run into. He almost died of shock when he saw that the person that he had ran into, holding fresh pizzas.

_Himself._

"Yeah, yeah.. look what you did! Squished pizzas come out of my pay.. and today I've squished four!" the past Fry yelled. The present Fry ignored him and ran off in the opposite direction, and when he was sure that the other Fry was out of sight.. he gasped.

_Okay.. that was me. But since when was I taller than myself? And why didn't he recognize me?_

Looking down, Fry could see his reflection in a nearby puddle. He looked nearly the same as before, only now his hair seemed to be jet-black.

_I kind of look like the Universe 1 me now, heh.. must have been whatever crap Nibbler gave me to drink.._

Nibbler's words came back to Fry, and he realized that even with his "disguise".. he couldn't ever see his family or anyone he knew in this time again. Somehow, he needed to make a new identity and life.. but for now he wanted to take a look around at everything he had missed. Remembering something that had happened to him this day nearly a thousand years ago, Fry quickly laughed to himself.

_So.. that's who that dirty bum was that I ran into that day.. me! Heh heh.._

* * *

After wandering New York (which was really "Old" New York) for hours, it was about an hour from midnight.. and Fry found himself back at the place that had changed him so much, the place that was his destiny.

_Applied Cryogenics._

He hid himself behind a mailbox across the street.. and sure enough, before long he could see his past self locking his bike outside and some thief making away with it.

_So, that's what happened to my bike!_ Fry thought, as he snuck into the building.. making sure not to be noticed, especially by Nibbler or his past selves. Lurking outside the doorway, he waited until his first past self was frozen before he entered.

"Yes! Here I come, future! Oh, no! Wait! I'm gonna get trapped in the Infosphere again! Just remember that Scooty-Puff Jr. sucks."

"In a thousand years, I'll get right on it."

After his second past self faded away, Fry entered the room to a very surprised Nibbler.

"So, human.. how much did you hear? No matter, your memory will be blanked soon enough anyway." Nibbler said, drawing closer.

"Nibbler.. it's me, Fry.. from the future! Another one, anyway.. but now I'm taller and have black hair, and stuff! You know.. the whole _Mighty One_ thing?"

"How did you.."

"I've came back here for good." Fry said. "There's nothing for me in the future anymore.."

Ignoring Nibbler, Fry walked over to view his past self frozen in a cryogenic tube. "So, this is how it all starts.." he said, rubbing his hand over the smooth surface. "My having to save the universe three times thing.. because I did it."

"You succeeded?" Nibbler asked, and Fry shook his head. "But, why are you.."

"I wanted to come back here.. I don't really know why, but it's like I need to be here to start over again." Fry replied, still staring into his past self's blank eyes. "You remember when I was telling you about Leela?"

"Of course.. it was only moments ago for myself, actually.."

"It didn't work out. It never could.. we were just too different. But she's found someone and got everything she ever wanted. My life there was just bad and I couldn't take it anymore.. I'm still from the 20th century even if I was there for ten years. Oh yeah, the future you told me not to tell anything to you.. but it's too late now anyway."

"That's probably why I told you that.. because I knew you would tell me." Nibbler said, and smiled. Fry had a look of confusion on his face, and Nibbler sighed. "Fine, if your mission is done.. go on your way. Just don't reveal any more of the future than you already have."

Nibbler turned to leave, but Fry stopped him. "Nibbler?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you.. for everything. I mean it. I might have been mad at the whole destiny thing, but my life in the future was great until it started sucking."

This time, Nibbler was the one with the confused look on his face as he withdrew from the room and left Fry behind. Fry turned and began to speak to his past self.

"Look.. I know you can't hear me, but you're going to get to go on like the biggest adventure ever in space and stuff. Eventually, you'll be me.. bitter, lonely, and a bit smelly.. but until then, enjoy what you've got. It'll never come again."

Fry looked at his former self one last time, before he left the room and made his way out of the building. He didn't notice that Nibbler had stayed behind and hid in the shadows, and had listened to every word he had just said to his previous self. Opening his suitcase, he looked over his _Holophonor_ and a modest stash of gold bars.. his only valuable possessions. In the future, Fry learned, gold was worth much less than it was in his original time.. which meant that he could live comfortably for a long while. He had converted what money he had been saving up into gold before leaving into another fateful trip through time.. his last.

He never entered Applied Cryogenics ever again.

* * *

The year: 3014.

Philip J. Fry's birthday.

Leela couldn't help but think of what had become of him. She had called him nearly four years ago.. only for him to hang up on her. He had then disappeared without a trace, and she had feared that he had used a Suicide Booth.. especially after the last words he had said to her.

_Goodbye, Leela.. you won't see me ever again._

That day was one of the days where she went to visit her parents down in the sewer. They were old, but still in fairly good health.. at least what qualified as "good" for a mutant, anyway. Her daughter was in school, which left her some free time.

After a quick chat and coffee with her parents, she was ready to leave when a young three-eyed mutant raced up to her, almost knocking her over.

"Leela.." he said, gasping for breath. "We've found another time capsule, in the ruins of Old New York. Wanna come see it?"

"Sure, why not?" Leela replied. Time capsules always fascinated her..

_You had a walking time capsule, and now he's probably gone forever.._

Leela's guilt ate away at her, as she looked at the crowd of mutants picking away at the contents of the capsule.

"Britney Spears.. trash. The Simpsons DVD boxed set.. ooh! Oh wait, it's season 16.. trash!"

"Looks like another day of slim pickings!" a female mutant nudged Leela. "Stupid people from the.."

"What the.." someone yelled, looking over a DVD case which was in surprisingly good condition. "To Turanga Leela?"

"Let me see that!" Leela said, snatching it from his hand. Sure enough, written on a sticker was her name.

_But.. how did this get there? This is a 21st century capsule, unless.. oh, no! Please.._

Shoving other mutants out of the way, Leela dug into the capsule herself until she happened to find a DVD player which also seemed to be addressed to her. She took no time in running back to the house of her parents.

"Mom.. Dad? Do either of you know how to hook up a DVD player?"

The Turangas exchanged odd looks which confirmed to Leela that they didn't. She sighed.

* * *

Three hours later, everything was set up and Leela was ready to watch. Her parents had left to go out to dinner, leaving her alone.

_Oh, please.. don't let this be from who I think it is.._

Pressing _Play_, Leela wasn't really surprised to see Fry staring back at her. He looked different.. black hair with several shades of grey. He seemed older, and even wiser if that were possible. The image of Fry gave her little time to her thoughts, as he began to speak almost immediately.

"Hey, Leela.. if you're seeing this, then I'm dead. I hope you do see this, by the way.. but not just for the dead part."

That line brought a brief smile to Leela's face. _After all these years, he can still make me smile.._

"I know I said you'd never see me again.. I guess I kind of lied. It's the year 2025.. and I'm 60 years old right now. Look at me, I'm old! Anyway.. there's this time capsule thing and I thought I'd leave a message for you. I'm sorry how that last phone call went.. I'm sorry for everything. It wasn't all your fault, I was a total jerk. It took me too long to accept that we weren't meant to be, but you still hurt me very badly, Leela. I forgive you though, I know you've been probably wanting to hear that.."

Leela was crying at hearing from Fry again, even if only through a primitive recording device. _But now he's gone, and he's never coming back.._

"I don't have a lot to say.. stuff actually went pretty well a few years after I came back. I got married and had a son, and now I have twin granddaughters.. kind of cool, huh?"

Fry left the camera momentarily to get a picture, which he then held up in front of it. "This is Lucy, my wife.. my son Sean.. (Leela winced at the name of one of her former boyfriends) his wife Gina, and their two daughters Grace and Sarah. I'm so glad I came back to this time.. I don't know where I'd be without them."

"Now, let me show you something.." Fry said, reaching off screen to grab something else after he set down the picture of his family. Leela gasped at the object he had retrieved.

His _Holophonor_.

Raising it to his lips, Fry began to play a simple tune.. but Leela was amazed at his results. A lifelike representation of the former Planet Express crew in their prime appeared above him.. Fry, herself, Bender, Amy, Professor Farnsworth, Hermes, Dr. Zoidberg.. even Scruffy. They all smiled at her before fading away in a greenish light.

"That was for you, Leela. I've been practicing for years and can actually play it good now! But.. I'm not even supposed to have this in this time, so I can't show it to anyone.." Fry said, looking at his _Holophonor_ with a bit of sadness in his eyes.

"I go by the name Larry Farnsworth now.. Farnsworth because of the Professor, and Larry was kind of the closest I could get to a male version of Leela." he said, and Leela was touched at Fry's use of her name. "Leela, if you see this.. go to Old New York and look for my grave. There'll be something there for you. Don't worry, I'm going to be cremated so there's not going to be any icky skeleton there or anything. Goodbye, Leela."

The last thing Leela saw was Fry reaching his left hand (with a fine looking ring on it, she noticed) towards the camera, turning it off. Fighting to stay silent while the message was running, she found that she couldn't anymore and broke down in a mess of tears.

* * *

Later, when she recovered.. she went off alone with a shovel to search what was left of Old New York. Four graveyards later, she finally came across what she was looking for:

Here lies

LARRY FARNSWORTH

Died: July 19, 2056

"REMEMBER FRY"

Leela kneeled and traced her fingers over the last two words, before she began digging. _I'll always remember you, Fry.. _ Before long, she hit a very old and rotted coffin and tore it open. True to his word, there wasn't a skeleton or anything "icky" there.. just another case.. one that looked eerily familiar to Leela.

She reached down and pulled it out, undoing the latches and opening it. Inside was the one thing Philip J. Fry treasured very highly above all his possessions.

His _Holophonor_.

After sitting there for close to a thousand years, Leela worried that the ancient musical instrument would break apart with a simple touch. But, it didn't and she noticed that she had began to cry as she picked it up and held it over her heart.

She replaced it back into its case, and after reburying Fry's empty grave.. she went home. Her daughter Diana was home from school and quickly noticed the case she was carrying.

"Mommy, what's that?"

"A gift from an old friend, sweetie." Leela replied. "An old friend, indeed.."

Taking the _Holophonor_ out and pressing it to her lips, she played a few notes and generated a rudimentary image of Fry, which smiled back at her. He faded away into nothingness as soon as Leela stopped.

"Was that him? He looks funny.."

"Yes, do you want me to tell you how I met him? It all began when I went in to work one day, at Applied Cryogenics.."

* * *

Okay.. this was meant to be a short one-shot but I ended up somehow making it much longer. There's a few parts in it that are best left to your imagination, like just what happened to break Fry and Leela apart so much and why she married another man.. and the so-called "third" time Fry saved the universe. I wanted to write more about these, but I couldn't find a good way to weave them in without dragging the story out too much.

Also, the "Larry Farnsworth" thing.. I did that on purpose. It would be possible that Professor could be descended from Fry in yet another way.. which meant that Fry had to go back to the past to make sure the Professor would be born, to keep all the events in line and everything.. though Fry obviously wouldn't have known this.

You have just watched another episode of.. _The Scary Door_.. or did you?


End file.
